Adult colouring has grown beyond a fad to an almost crazy obsession. Suzanne McFadden looks at how colouring-in books went from child’s play to the top of the best-seller books list, and why some companies are even giving them to their staff for stress relief.

hey said it would be restful, relaxing and even brain-healthy fun. So why does my hand hover over the elaborate black and white patterns on the page, my mind in a mild state of angst?

In my brief experience as a colourer - 10 days - I've come to call this foreboding "the colourer's conundrum". It's the silent crisis over which colour theme to run with; which corner of your potential work of art to start in; coloured pencils or gel pens; and the fear of failing to stay within the lines. The pursuit of perfection can be discombobulating.

A new fad for the adult reliving their childhood? Stores are selling adult coloring books and the news says it's catching on around the world, but why?

Most online and in person book stores and shops carry them now.

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Fashionable these days are adult coloring books, which began in Europe and the US, and now have found their way to Philippine bookstores. They are not anymore the kind to keep children busy and quiet. This time, it’s the adults who are hunched over the pages, with exquisite scenery and intricate patterns.

Adult coloring books are supposed to provide stress relief. The idea is to devote a few minutes of one’s day to think of nothing—not things to do, people to see or places to go to—except the task at hand. Choose a color, fill the space. Every stroke of the color pencil is supposed to be an exercise in mindfulness.

I don't have a coloring book; I found them to have pictures to color that are a bit too intricate for someone with hands which are a bit clunky. But I did find some public domain pictures to color online and downloaded and tried some of them.

It was fun. My dilemma was that I wasn't real satisfied with the quality of the finished look; but I think to do better I'd need much more expensive colored pencils. I priced them and - well, the sky was almost the limit on pricing of upscale ones.

A library branch had recently offered colouring pages for adults one afternoon. Only a parent with a young child asked about having a colouring page as the child was interested, so staff accommodated the request.

In Toronto, a major city in Ontario, there are cafes where adult colouring books are part of the social experience while having a coffee with friends or the regulars.

A major bookstore carries small books of Japanese designs (to colour in) that remind me of fabric or home textile designs. I'd love to have the 60 pencil crayon set from Prismacolour to colour in those designs!

Bookstores have the widest selection of small and large colouring books. I've even seen some book offerings at convenience stores,which can be good news for people on road trips or stuck in waiting rooms. The books would make good hospital gifts to providean alternative to television watching and to keep the brains agile while deciding on colours or patterns to use in the drawings.

Some magazines incorporate a colouring page as part of their fun pages in each issue. Themed pages for holidays ornature scenes, you just have to turn the pages to find the current drawing.

With March Break occurring in North America, colouring cafes or library events are bound to be really popular.